Week XIV: Using Games for Teaching and Learning

This week we learned about Second Life and online games that can be used for learning. Although games can be used just for entertainment, we can make anything educational. I do think Second Life is a very interesting game, however, I don't think that it should be used for educational purposes. Google Earth is a great application that can be very useful and educational. I would like to figure out how to use it to make traveling movies and such that will allow me to document my trips. This is a great source for teaching geography and where a child lives.

I feel that it is very important to have a fun learning environment in the classroom that utilizes online resources. I hope to do this in my practice to teach my patients resources online. I think it is a good idea to show them instead of just handing them a sheet of paper saying what they need to do. There are no games that I can play with my patients and since many of them will be older, I do not think that would be appropriate.

I came across a thread that talks about gaming in the classroom. You can find it here.

Week XII: Creating a Professional Web Presence

During this week's class, we talked about the importance of creating a web presence. We went on our Facebooks and discussed what we are showing to the world. Since our lives have become so public, we must make sure that we are in control of what others know about us. I, personally, have always paid attention to what image I was portraying on Facebook and Myspace. It is not always easy to realize when you have added something that is not going to be perceived as inappropriate but we must try. Most of us have a web presence but for class, we had to create a professional web presence. You can view my webpage here. This purpose of this assignment was to have a professional page online that will allow others to know about us. It includes stuff we want to share in a format that is more professional and appropriate than Facebook/Twitter/etc.

When I have my own practice, I will have a professional web presence for my business. I plan on using many tools that I have learned from this class. My application of these tools can be found in those weekly posts. I want to have a website for my practice that will inform my patients of how to contact me, what services I offer, insurances that I accept, etc. I am looking forward to creating this page and increasing business.

I found an article about creating a successful web presence for a business. It was written by Steve Strauss and posted on 4/11/2010 on USA Today. Maximizing your web presence is key to building your small business.

Week XI: Open Source Software

This week we talked about social networking and open source software. When we discussed social networking, we mentioned the pros and the cons of it. It is important to realize that not all people are aware of the pragmatics that occur when using the internet. It is important to education our youth on what is safe to use and how not to trust everything you come into contact with while on the internet. There have been many unfortunate events that occurred because of bullying on the internet which can not always be prevented since it is such an open place. We also learned about open source software which is software that is typically available online. The codes are available for many people to manipulate and change to create the end result of the product. It is almost like having a lot of people create a product together but they do not even have to know each other. Music, games, resources, etc have been created through this method.

Since open source is a methodology and a practice, there are tons of resources online that are created this way. Although I am not likely going to create an amazing program for other to use on the internet, I will utilize these resources. I do not know exactly what sources I will use when I am an audiologist, but I am sure that I will be able to find something that will make my life easier personally and professionally.

When researching more about this topic, I came across a website that helps you find and develop open source tools. It is called Source Forge and it is free! You can even browse for tools by category which can make it even easier to find what you are looking for. This is a great site and I hope you enjoy.

Week X: Tech Tools for Critical Thinking

This was a great week. We learned about a different way to organize our thoughts through concept maps. All people learn differently. That is what I really appreciate about others. Although I may make sense out of one way of doing something does not mean that someone else can understand it. So concept maps are a great tool to organize you thoughts for yourself or to show others. You can see my example of a concept map when making the decision for which graduate school to attend in my previous post. As you can see in the concept map, USF seemed like the best choice. I have actually made the decision to attend USF so it seems that it really worked out for me!

As an audiologist, I can use concept maps and other tech tools found online to help me be productive in my business. It is important to share you ideas to others when trying to build a business. If I do not own my own business at the beginning, I can make this for suggestions or a way to better my interaction with my patients. This is not a direct tool that I can use regularly, but I can definitely benefit from it.

I found another really cool tech tool online to share. It is a free tool that allows you to call this number with a memo for yourself or something else and it will send the transcription and your audio to your email. The transcription is said to be very good, too. You can also send it to others so if your phone is not web-enabled but you want to send an email, you can do so! Check it out here!

Webspiration

This week's assignment showed me one of the best resources that we've learned in this class. I never used concept maps because I always felt that they take too much time to create. Once it's on the paper, you can't change it without it taking a lot of time. These websites are just amazing! They are also fun. I like that I was able to bring my personality into my Webspiration concept map because of the images and colors. Instead of making my map about tools, I made my map about a huge decision in my life. I am currently trying to decide which of three graduate schools I want to attend. I've been discussing my options with many people over the past couple of weeks and thought this was a great opportunity to document it all so I wouldn't forget. I shared this with my mom so she was able to see my thoughts about all of it, too. If I learn something new about a school that makes it stand out (or makes it less appealing) I can add that, too, and I won't have to adjust anything.

These tools are a great resource for making decisions, planning events, organizing ideas, etc. I will definitely use this in the future. I can use this in the professional world as an audiologist when trying to come up with a design for something or a business plan for my practice. If I end up working as an educational audiologist, I could make a concept map for teachers. The map would allow them to visualize and understand the changes that they need to make in their classrooms and the outcomes of those changes.

My concept map is an expansion of a spider map. I found a webpage created by the University of Memphis that demonstrates different types of concept maps. I think this is helpful to just see the different types because you can see how it can be applied to different ideas. It can open your mind to different ways to think and express your ideas.

Here is an example:

Here is the article.

Week IX: Social Tools & Cloud Computing

This week's class taught us about GoogleDocs, cloud computing, and social bookmarking. GoogleDocs is a resource that I would like to start using more often. It is similar to a wiki in that different people can view the document just to read it or to alter it, and then save it so others can see it. I think this would be a great tool for a work schedule in a restaurant that changes often. It would also be great for group projects or sign-up sheets. I have wanted to use it in the past, but I get stuck because not all people have a Google account so they would have to make one. Some people are hesitant about doing this.

Cloud computing is something that I had never heard of prior to this week's class. This is a metaphor for the internet and is the purchasing of servers from companies that physically story the hardware to maintain all of the websites that consumers use regularly. Our email, for example, is not something that is stored inside of our computer. We rely on the websites we use and the companies that provide them to support our files and messages. Many of the larger companies do this through cloud computing which allows them to use as much space as they need when they need it. When usage goes down, so does their requirements of servers so they pay less.

GoogleDocs is something that anyone, regardless of their career, can use. I plan on using this in my practice for it will make many things more mainstreamed for my employees and myself. I do not plan on having a website in which I will need to use cloud computing but it is interesting to learn about it and understand how the internet works. I am glad to have learned about this.

I came across "sustainable cloud computing" when I was researching it. I came across an article by Ariel Schwartz from September 30, 2009 called "Can Cloud Computing Ever Truly Be Sustainable?". The article discusses how some companies try and be sustainable at their data centers by balancing their energy use, but the author questions whether or not this could ever be truly attained. I think this brings a good perspective to something that you don't intuitively think about when discussing cloud computing.

Week VIII: The Sound of...Podcasting

This week we learned about podcasting and digital media files. I enjoyed learning about how to use GarageBand on a MAC and free software for PCs like Audacity. We all know the purpose of audio files, whether it is to create a video, listen to music, or get news off of the internet. Podcasts were created to change the audio files from websites into a downloadable form for mp3 players. Although I have not used podcasts before, I feel that it is very beneficial for others. One way that I would find this to be used for entertainment purposes would be radio shows that are not broadcasted in your area. For me, I enjoy listening to Real Radio 104.1 which can be heard in the Orlando area. They do stream their show online and it is available for podcasts. I could not listen to this live for it is early in the morning, but if I put it on my mp3 player, I could listen to it whenever I wanted to.

I plan on using Audacity whenever I need to record something and clip it together in the future. When creating my audio file, I tried to be creative and have a story behind my clip. The guitar that is heard was made for me by a old friend. He created the piece for me about 8 years ago and I've had it in my music folder through several computers since then. I paired it with rain in the background and a ticking clock. The story that my piece portrays is a teenage boy alone in his house in the country. He is sad about the girl he loves being so far away. He is looking out the window of his house after dark and it is raining outside. Just sitting alone, he decides to play his guitar and reminisce about his summer love. I had a great time with this project and have listened to the piece several times since then.

When looking up more about Podcasting, I came across a website called PodcastAlley. This is a pretty cool website because it explains what podcasting is and allows you to subscribe to different podcasts that you enjoy. You can look them up based on genre, comment on them, and upload your own. I think this would be great for people who have a lot of time to listen to things like this such as truckers.

Sound files are going to be useful for websites in the field of audiology. Podcasting, on the other hand, is not the most effective method to communicate with clients for they may not be able to relay a message if your clients are unable to hear it. Visual representations are going to be more effective for my future clients but the sound files that will come with this can be enjoyed by clients with a mild to moderate hearing loss and hearing family members.